As part of its commitment to deepen financial inclusion of women and encourage small scale enterprises, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), through EasyAgents, its agency banking network and other channels, has extended N28.7 billion loans to 200,000 women in the country.
The bank has also granted loan facilities to one million financially excluded Nigerians, ensuring they have a better and more sustainable future through access to financial services.
According to the bank it has provided micro loans valued at N40 billion to over 300,000 beneficiaries comprising 200,000 women traders across the country who were able to access over US$51.28 million (N28.7 billion) of the total loan sum.
FCMB the managing director, Mrs Yemisi Edun, said:
“We are proud of our significant role in integrating Nigeria’s huge informal economy driven by small-scale farmers, traders, artisans, and other small and medium-sized businesses into the formal economy through affordable and sustainable access to financial services.
“Access to financial services enables prosperity and allows disadvantaged and vulnerable people to improve their lives, create wealth and reduce poverty. So, we will continue championing and executing initiatives that deepen access to affordable and sustainable financial services in our local communities to empower individuals and businesses,” she pointed out.
The bank says it has invested in 10,000 agency bankers that extend financial services to the streets and doorsteps of millions of Nigerians in peri-urban and rural areas.
